Bosso’s Senong-Benjani drama a disastrous advertisement of Zimbabwean football

• Club’s South African coach given less than two hours to leave Zimbabwe to make way for Benjani

HIGHLANDERS’ murky appointment of former Warriors forward Benjani Mwaruwari and subsequent, dramatic discarding of South African, Thabo Senong will go down as one of the worst advertisements of Zimbabwean football.

Speaking to a leading South African sports presenter on Metro FM recently, Senong said he could not wish what Bosso did to him on anyone.

A former Sekhukhune United and Singifa assistant coach, Senong’s appointment had been well received by the club’s passionate fans, with the club’s hierarchy receiving him at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport and then at their offices just three weeks ago.

He was to be shuttled out in a huff, though, as club chief executive officer (CEO) Denzil Mkandla warned him of immigration officers who were demanding that he process his work VISA from South Africa, despite having been allowed to stay for 30 days in Zimbabwe.

He was given less than two hours to leave, left some of his belongings in Bulawayo and by 1400hrs had landed “safely” in Johannesburg, South Africa, albeit with hope Bosso would proceed as had been agreed.

Unbeknownst to him, his exit ensured smooth sailing for Highlanders and club benefactor Wicknell Chivayo’s Plan B, the appointment of Benjani Mwaruwari in his stead, as had been “demanded” by the monied businessman last year.

“I still had 30 days to stay, a situation that qualified me to wait for the permit while in Bulawayo. The executive could have made sure I stayed,” said Senong.

“No one deserves to experience what I experienced.”

Radio silence ensured as rumours spread; Senong would not be sitting on the Barbourfields bench, Chivayo was set to have his way, while those with the wildest imaginations whispered in journalists’ ears that his permit application would not be processed.

In the midst of it all, Highlanders executive members, who included the CEO and executive vice chairperson Fiso Siziba, desperate for a financier as the season approached, drove to Harare with a begging bowl.

Siziba said they had gone to meet former principal sponsors Sakunda Holdings and not Chivayo, but they came back with Mwaruwari’s employment letter tucked somewhere in their bags.

To appease Senong, Highlanders offered him the assistant coach role, reporting to Mwaruwari and later proposed appointing him technical director, taking over from club legend Madinda Ndlovu. He refused both offers.

Added Senong: “After a week’s silence, between the 18th and 22nd of January, I was advised to take a different role at the club.

“It is clear that there was no truth, and it is one of the reasons why I refused to be an assistant coach or technical director.

“All the trust was lost and I decided to step aside. They were not honest with me and disrupted my plans.

“I now just have to trust the process of coming up with the termination of employment agreement, we would not want to go through FIFA and all that.”

According to Senong, Mkandla described these developments as “changes needed by financial backers”, short for “Chivayo has told us to employ Mwaruwari ahead of you, and we cannot say no.”

The excitement that Senong’s appointment had generated has died down and been replaced by never-ending arguments about whether Chivayo, Mwaruwari and the Bosso executive did the right thing.

Despite concerns about Senong’s level of experience, considering the magnitude of the job at hand, some believe the influence exerted by Chivayo marked an end of the Bosso of old and the start of a new era, divorced from the values of iTeam Yezwe Lonke.